Device for thinning and cultivating beets.



No. 780,137. PATENTED JAN. 17, i905w G. H. SMITH.

DEVICE FOR THINNING AND GULTIVATING BET-STE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 19, 1901.

Witnesses 7 Inventor,

I Y Httomega NTTnn STATEs Patented January 17, 1905.

GEORGE H. SMITH, OF URBANA, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO GEORGE E.MOCONLEY, OF STERLING, COLORADO.

DEVICE FOR THlNNlNG AND CULTIVATING BEETS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 780,137, dated January17, 1905. Application filed May 19,1904. Serial No. 208,735.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. SMITH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Urbana, in the county of Ohampaign and State of Ohio, haveinvented a new and useful Device for Thinning and Cultivating Beets, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to devices for thinning or blocking out beets andother plants which are sown in drills and which after sprouting requireto be thinned or blocked out in order that stands of a single plant eachmay be left at suitable distances apart to insure a healthy and prolificgrowth.

The present invention relates to that class of thinning devices whichare designed to opcrate across the rows of plants for the purpose ofthinning and at the same time cultivating the same, destroying grass andweeds; and it has for its object to provide a device of this class whichshall possess superior advantages in point of simplicity, durability,and general efficiency and which shall be capable of being set orregulated in such a mannor as to leave the stands at any desireddistancc apart and in which the earth-engaging implements shall also becapable of convenient adjustment.

With these and other ends in view the invention consists in the improvedconstruction, arrangement, and combination of parts which will behereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings hereto annexed has been illustrated a simple andpreferred form of embodiment of the invention, it being, however,understood that I do not necessarily limit myself to the precisestructural details therein exhibited, but reserve the right to anychanges, alterations, or modifications which may be resorted to withinthe scope of the inven tion and without departing from the spirit orsacrificing any of the advantages of the same.

In said drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan view of a beet-thinningimplement constructed in accordance with the principles of theinvention. Fig. 2 is aside elevation, partly in section, of the same,the near wheel having been removed. Fig. 3 is a perspective detail View,partly in section and enlarged, of a portion of the axle and oneot' thethinning and cultivating implements. Fig. 4 is a sectional detail viewtaken longitudinally through the axle of the machine.

Corresponding parts in the several figures are indicated by similarnumerals of reference.

In the form of embodiment of my invention, which is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, the axle, which is generally designated 1, iscomposed of top and bottom plates 2 2, suitably spaced apart at the endsthereof by blocks 3 3, carrying the spindles 4 4;, and also spaced apartby intermediate blocks 5 5. The axle structure thus presents theappearance of being provided with a plurulity or horizontally disposedslots 6, which are bounded by the top and bottom plates, by the endblocks 3, and the intermediate blocks 5, and in the form of embodimentillustrated three such slots have been shown.

The spindles 4i carry the transportingwhecls 7, and upon said spindlesadjacent to the inner sides of the transporting-wheels are mountedupwardly extending bifurcated brackets 8 8, to the upper ends of whichthe shafts or thills 9 9 are secured, said thills being spaced apart notonly by the usual crosspiece 10, but also bya metallic frame 11,supporting the seat 12.

The thinning and cultivating implements of the device are each providedwith a beam 14:, having at its front end an upwardly-extending bracket15. At the rear end of each of the beams are secured a pair ofdownwardly-extending plates 16, which may be spaced apart by thethickness of the beam and which are shouldered or ofl'set, as indicatedat 17, for the purpose of spacing them suificiently apart, and saidplates are provided at their lowers ends with laterallyextendingdivergent wings 18, having downwardly-extending earth-engaging teeth 19,said teeth being secured detachably in screwthreaded sockets 20 in saidwings in order that they may be readily detached for sharpening whennecessary. It is obvious that any other suitable, well known, andapproved means for connecting the teeth detachably with thesupporting-wings 18 may be resorted to within the scope of theinvention.- The depending plates 16. which carry the toothed wings 18,are spaced apart, as described, for the purpose of permitting thepassage between them of the plant which is to be left to form the stand,and the distance between said plates may be regulated by the thicknessof the beam 1 k and by the extent of the shoulders or ofisets 17. Thewings 18 are preferably sharpened at their front edges, so as toconstitute hoes which will effectively engage the soil to remove thegrowth in the path thereof.

The thinning and cultivating implements are connected with the axle ofthe device by means of clips or clamping devices, each of which includesa bolt member 21, having a slotted head 22 for the passage of thebracket 15, and a flange-plate 23, engaging the top and bottom plates ofthe axle and having a perforation for the passage of the bolt member,which is secured by means of anut 2 clamped or tightenedagainst theflanged clip-plate 23. By this simple clamping device the brackets ofthe thinning and cultivating implements may be securely connected withthe axle laterally adjustably within the limit of the extent of theslots 6 and also vertically adjustably within the limits of the lengthof the brackets 15. By disposing the brackets 15 all adjacent to oneside of the axle all of the earthengaging implements will be disposed inlateral alinement with each other, assuming the devices to be all ofequal dimensions. By disposing the brackets alternately adjacent to thefront and rear sides of the axle the earthengaging members will bedisposed in Zigzag order-that is, alternately in advance of and behindeach other. This arrangement has been illustrated in the drawings andwill preferably be carried out when a plurality of these earth-engagingimplements are used. It is obvious that within the limits of theinvention any desired number of these implements may be employed in asingle machine.

The rear end of the frame 11 is connected by a longitudinal bar 25 withthe cross-bar 10, carrying a rack-segment 26 and supporting a hand-lever27, which is fulcrumed concentrically to the rack-segment and isprovided with an ordinary spring-actuated dog 28, engaging the latter.The lower end of the lever is connected, by means of links 29, withuprights 30, rising from the axle. It will be seen that by manipulatingthe lever 27 the axle may be tilted, thereby raising or lowering theearth-engaging elements from or into engagement with the soil.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawingshereto annexed, the operation and advantages of this invention will bereadily understood by those skilled in the art to which it appertains.The implement is driven across the field at right angles to the rows ofplants, and the wings 18 of the thinning and cultivating implements willact as hoes to cut out the plants between the stands which pass betweenthe plates 16, the latter serving as guards to prevent weeds or clodsfrom falling upon the young plants and smothering their growth. Thewings or hoes 18 will not only cut the superfluous plants, but also theweeds and grass growing adjacent to the stands, and the sharp teeth 19,digging into the soil, will remove the upturned roots of the grass andweeds, thus efficiently cultivating the ground as close to the stands aspossible.

It is obvious that by properly adjusting the thinning and cultivatingimplements with relation to each other allowance may be made forelevating the stands at any distance apart. It is also obvious that byvertical adjustment of said implements they may be set to cut into thesoil to any desired depth. By means of the lever 27 the axle may betilted so as to throw the thinning and cultivating implements into orout of operative position, as may be required.

It is obvious that when desired the thills may be removed and a tonguebe substituted, such tongue being suitably connected with thecross-piece 10, which latter will be connected with short frame-piecessubstituted for the rear ends of the thills.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. An axle composed of topand bottom plates, end blocks spacing said top and bottom plates apartand provided with spindles, intermediate spacing-blocks, wheels upon thespindles, and earth engaging implements connected with the axle byclamping means extending through the slots or open spaces between thespacing-blocks.

2. An axle consisting of top and bottom plates separated by blocksspaced apart, earthengaging implements having beams provided with upwardly-extending brackets and clamping means, including bolts providedwith slotted heads for the reception of the brackets of the beams,clamping-plates perforated for the passage of said bolts, andtighteningnuts.

3. An axle consisting of top and bottom plates, blocks spacing saidplates apart at the ends thereof and provided with spindles andintermediately disposed spacing blocks, in combination withearth-engaging implements having beams provided with upwardly-extendingbrackets and clamping means adjustably engaging said brackets, saidclamping means being laterally adjustable in the slots between thespacing-blocks and the axle.

4. A wheelsupported axle,bifurcated brackets engaging the spindles ofsaid axle and extending upward, thills supported by said brackets, across-bar and a seat-supporting frame spacing the rear ends of saidthills, a

IIS

longitudinal brace connecting the frame and cross-bar and having arack-segment, a lever pivotally connected therewith and having a dogengaging the rack -segment, uprights rising from the axle, linksconnecting said uprights with the lower end of the lever, andearth-engaging implements connected With the axle.

5. A thinning and cultivating implement consisting of a beam, spacedplates depending from said beam and having shoulders or offsets for thepassage between them of growing plan ts, and Wings extending laterallyfrom the offset portions, said Wings constituting earth-engagingelements.

6. In a beet thinning and cultivating machine adapted to operate acrossthe rows, the

combination with a supporting-frame, of a thinning and cultlvatlngimplement lncludlng a beam, spaced plates depending from the 20 GEORGEH. SMITH.

Witnesses:

ISAAC N. Nnnsn, SAM STONE, Jr.

